Some state lawmakers say new polling that finds the lack of housing as the top issue for Mainers underscores the need for bold action in Augusta that addresses the housing crisis at its roots. According to a poll released Monday by the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center, Mainers believe housing is the most important…
In response to sky-high prices combined with a dearth of affordable units, advocates introduced a slate of housing justice bills this legislative season, the combined force of which they hope will begin to address the state’s affordable housing crisis that has put many Maine renters in an expensive bind. Proponents say the measures are necessary to…
A broad coalition of lawmakers and advocates are pushing for bills that would reform Maine’s housing laws by preventing discrimination against a tenant for a prior eviction and raising notice requirements landlords must give for rent increases — two measures among a slate of legislation to address the state’s affordable housing crisis. The bills were…
Maine lawmakers passed a $1.2 billion supplemental budget on Tuesday with strong bipartisan support that makes new investments in child health care, forever chemical mitigation, tax credits, a free community college pilot program, and boosting retirement pensions. But a minority of progressives, joined by a few Republicans, voted against the budget package. They said policymakers…
As Maine’s affordable housing crisis escalates, 17 Democrats in the House joined with Republicans on Wednesday to vote down a measure that would have allowed municipalities to implement a fee on residential property that isn’t occupied on a permanent basis and use that money to increase the availability or lower the cost of year-round housing. The…
The Maine People’s Alliance (of which Beacon is a project) released this week its annual legislative scorecard, rating state policymakers for their votes on legislation ranging from tax fairness measures, to expanding access to health care and housing, to racial equity among others. “With a Democratic governor and Democratic majorities in both chambers, our state…
A proposal to create a task force to study the possibility of replacing Maine’s investor-owned energy grid with a not-for-profit consumer-owned utility was passed by the Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee on Friday. If the measure passes both chambers of the legislature in a yet to be determined short session, the task force…
State lawmakers have sent a letter to the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the body that regulates Central Maine Power and Emera, requesting they stop payment on a $500,000 study that analyzed the potential costs and benefits of turning over the state’s investor-owned electrical grid to Maine consumers. The legislators assert that the consultancy firm…
As rental application fees continue to make Maine’s housing crisis even more expensive for renters, the state legislature will not be taking up a proposed bill to ban the unregulated practice. The Legislative Council, consisting of the Speaker of the House, the Senate President and the majority and minority leaders of each chamber, reviewed almost 400…
The Maine People’s Alliance’s 2019 legislative scorecard launched online Tuesday, with 38 legislators earning perfect scores for advancing progressive values with votes they made during the first session of the 129th legislature. In an email announcing the scorecard’s launch, MPA co-director Amy Halsted said it is a “chance to make clear how our state lawmakers voted on some…